Clay Aiken Tour Scores New Highs in Cleveland

Where do I begin? ... Theme from Love Story.
View Cleveland video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Tried & True Troupe Thrills

Cleveland Concert Raises the Bar

Tried & True audiences thought Clay Aiken & Co. reached the pinnacle with the Pittsburgh performance, but Cleveland reports from Saturday's show prove this concert tour just keeps getting better each night.

From the famous "Invisible" shirt tug dating back to the American Idol 2 Tour to exquisite vocals by Clay and his singing partner, Quiana Parler, to the varied "stump the band" stylings for "Who's Sorry Now" (Bhangra, Latin, and opera in Cleveland), the talented musicians are presenting an entertaining show at every stop.

Instrumentalists include Ben Cohn, conductor/arranger/keyboards; Adam Fallen, guitar; Del Atkins, bass; and Felix Pollard, drums.

Concert Recaps Fill in Blanks

Like countless fans connected to the concert via Cyberspace, I was on the receiving end of a cellcert Saturday night. Separated by expandable photos by cindilu2, these recaps from fans in the Palace Theatre house help replay the Cleveland concert.

cindilu2: Fantastic concert. By far the best of my three. "Unchained" was beyond amazing. Best I've heard him sing it since Raleigh. "Both Sides Now" was a special treat, and "In My Life" was simply sublime.

Hobbes: My favorites were "Unchained Melody," "Build Me Up Buttercup", "Mack The Knife", and "Love Story"; but the opera was my favorite moment of the evening. It was amazing. The Indian (Bhangra) version was great, too, with Quiana taking on most of it. Clay was laughing too hard at her dancing to add much.

When Clay was talking about the band members he said that Felix and his wife had an anniversary coming up on Feb. 28. Felix had told him that he and his wife had danced their first dance to "Something About Us," so he is going to have them dance to the song on stage that night.

When he did his bit jokingly complaining about cellcerters, he asked a woman who she was talking to and where she was. The certer was from Peru and the person receiving the cert (Mindy) was in Kansas. He asked if she could fly in all the way from Peru, why couldn’t Mindy show up from Kansas. Very cute!

Beagle3: The concert was awesome. There were a lot of men, the most I've ever seen at a Clay Aiken concert; and it was nice to see. This was the first of my five concerts, and I can't wait to see it again in Cincinnati.

Eight of us are in our suite reliving the concert. Unfortunately, there's a huge fraternity convention in the hotel this weekend, which does not bode well for sleeping. I think we'll be up most of the night.

all4luv: I loved the colors of the lighting they used as a backdrop for the stage. The blues were especially beautiful.

I have not seen "Solitaire" in this concert series yet as my two shows so far have been last night and tonight. I can say that "Both Sides Now" is a masterpiece, and I would not give up him performing that song for any other!

Cyn: In our Meet & Greet, Clay was asked about his choice of opening songs, "Love Story." He said the song was supposed to be on the TNT CD, but it didn’t make the final cut. He really loves the song and decided the lyrics ("Where do I begin ...?") would be a great way to start the concert.

Featured videos by Scarlett include "Who's Sorry Now," Quiana's solo ("Cry Me a River"), "Suspcious Minds," "Unchained Melody," and "Both Sides Now." To save video/audio files, see Cleveland Clack.

'Who's Sorry Now' in three genres.
See Cleveland video full screen at YouTube.

Quiana sings 'Cry Me a River.'
Link to YouTube to view Cleveland video full screen.

Clay & Co. sing 'Suspicious Minds' in Cleveland.
View video full screen at YouTube.

Clay's signature 'Unchained Melody' closes concert.
View Cleveland video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Cleveland encore features 'Both Sides Now.'
View video by Scarlett full screen at YouTube.

Postscripts to Scarlett's videos are her one-sentence summary of the Cleveland concert and a clickable screen cap from the show:

It's always been wonderful, but last night was way beyond that.

Click to expand Cleveland screen cap by Scarlett.

Have an awesome week, Clay Nation! Catch you after Connecticut ...

Caro